warehouse_13_artifact_databasefandomcom-20200215-history
User blog:Garr9988/He Will Be Adored...
Hello and welcome to the second installment of the "Double Danger" story arc (don't worry, the final story will be the third). Where we last left off, Garrett had been split in two: The evil Scott, who is now on a quest, looking for various powerful artifacts, and Garrett, now hospitalized after being stabbed by Felix (but he meant well, so its not mean). Here is the soundtrack playlist I have so far (note that the songs are for the entire arc, rather than this story individually, and that they may not be in the right order in sequence.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My9pGiLgNpY&list=PLKkX9XBHUrCYJ3-KaE_afwCbBOLk_p3xi Chapter 1 - Bedside Manners "Will he be alright, Vanessa?" Artie asked. Artie, along with Felix and Aden, had joined Garrett on the ambulance to the nearest hospital. "Its hard to say," Dr. Calder said, crossing her arms and looking at the motionless agent through the window into the bedroom. "He was stabbed in the side, and no internal organs were hit, so there was minimal blood loss. We removed the wax, too. But since he was hit with so many artifacts at once, its a miracle he's still alive right now. I can't say for certain, but he may just make it through." "Thanks, Doc." Felix nodded, leaning against the door to Garrett's room. Vanessa nodded back, and left. "Its not your fault, Felix." Aden said. "Garrett was whammied, and he attacked Megan. You had no-" "Don't say I had no other choice, Aden." Felix growled. "If I had my Tesla, or if I had time to reach a Neutralizer station." "But you didn't, you had to use the dagger." Artie said, rubbing his left shoulder. "I know the feeling. I was only in the coma because of my guilt. Garrett didn't kill anyone, so he has nothing to be guilty for, really." "But what if he doesn't make it? We couldn't neutralize the tin, and with a combo of so many artifacts, what if that clone stays alive when our Garrett dies?" Felix rubbed is forehead. Before either Aden or Artie could say anything, Blaine emerged from Garrett's room. "Guys, he's waking up." Chapter 2 - Alive The clone Garrett laughed and laughed and laughed as he tore through the Warehouse. He had finally lost Bri, Nikki, and Megan. At least, for a short while. He cursed himself for suggesting thermal-imaging cameras throughout the Warehouse. "Ah well," ''he thought. ''"I was a different Garrett back then." '' If he wanted to escape the Warehouse alive, and achieve what he desired, he'd need a few things. As he passed through the Isaac Newton Aisle, he noticed something shining. He was always a sucker for something reflective, so he checked it out. It looked like some sort of glass rectangular pyramid. He looked next to the glass object and read the display card: "Isaac Newton's Prism". "Oh," he said. "Interesting." Picking up the prism, he moved it around him, looking for an appropriate light source. When the light of a nearby desk lamp reached the prism and shined on him, it glowed brightly, and a red beam of light shone to his left. Suddenly, an exact copy of himself, albeit tinted red, was standing next to him! The clone's clone stared at the original clone, looking him up and down. They smiled. "Hello." the original said. "Hello," the copy said. "I know what to do." "Then get going." The original beamed, and watched as the red copy ran off to collect some other artifacts while he pocketed the prism. As a hard-light construct, he'd be invisible to a thermal camera's sensors. ''"And a minor telepathic connection to boot." ''he thought. ''"Maybe," ''he thought, ''"I should name myself." ''As he strolled past the Isaac Newton Aisle, he passed the Broadway Section, and a certain song popped into his head. A song from a particularly apropos show. '''What a feeling to be so alive/ such a feeling of evil inside." Scott. That would do. Dr. Garrett and Mister Scott... Chapter 3 - My Fault Aden, Artie, and Felix entered Garrett's hospital room, and Blaine remained as well. The nurse finished checking a few things on her chart and left the room. Garrett sat up, a pained grimace on his face as he reached his hand to his bandaged side. "Hey, kiddo." Artie said. "You feeling any better?" "Ughh," Garrett groaned. "My head's exploded and there's a steamhammer in my chest. Plus I've been stabbed. No offense." "None taken." Artie and Felix said in unison. "I'm so sorry, guys." Garrett sighed, resting his head on the wall behind him. "I should have known something was wrong with that tin. I neutralized it as-" "We know. Bri told us." Aden said, placing a calming hand on Garrett's shoulder. "We're looking into that right now. Well, after your clone." "And Aden, you had your day off." Garrett put is other hand on his forehead. "Can I just... speak to Felix alone?" "Sure thing." Artie led Blaine and Aden out of the room, leaving Felix and Garrett alone. Garrett began to sit up, and Felix moved toward him. "I don't think you're ready for that yet." "I'm fine." Garrett said quickly. He motioned Felix's hand away and struggled a bit, but finally stood up, leaning on the bed post. "Felix, I'm so so so sorry for trying to kill you. I can't stress that enough." Garrett pushed up his glasses. "You were whammied. If it weren't for that-" Felix began, but was cut off by Garrett's groan. "Don't give me that. I know what the clone said. 'You can't get rid of evil that's already there.' That tin brought something out in me, something I now know should've been kept down." "He was trying to mess with us," Felix said. "He tricked me. He tricked the others." This caused Garrett to stride over to Felix, mere inches from his face, and stare him in the eyes. "But what if he wasn't, ''huh? What if he was ''aaaalllll ''the bad things I've kept inside after all this time, brought to light? I was stupid, I thought the thing was a normal tin. For Christ's sake, it didn't even have a return address!" "We'll find whoever sent it, but you need to-" Garrett pounded his fist against the wall. "Why don't you just tell me I'm a fuck up! Why," pound, "don't you," pound, "just kill me," pound, "NOW!" Felix backed up just a step, and saw through Garrett's tears that his eyes were glowing a vibrant green, rather than his usual gray/blue. Garrett blinked a few times, his eyes returning to normal, and, with wide eyes, gasped. After a moment, he fainted. Chapter 4 - An Interesting Development After a few minutes, Scott's red clone returned with a few artifacts he would need to put his plan into motion. Sure, others had tried this before him, according to the other agents, but he would be going after this a different way. Instead of going after ''just ''the Warehouse and its artifacts, he'd be going after those who protected them. But in order to take the Warehouse, he'd have to escape it first. He held out the prism, and the red Scott returned to the artifact. "See you soon, buddy." He said to the prism, and returned it to his pocket. "Now, where to go from here." As an agent, Scott knew his way around certain landmarks of the Warehouse; left from the Urban Legend Sector and down about ten aisles would take him to the entrance of the Personal Quarters. That would be a nice start. Scott began his route to his room, and was halfway there when he got a strange feeling in his stomach. It wasn't painful, just... odd. Suddenly, his vision began to blur, and he got a flash of an image: A hospital room, and Felix was there. ''"Felix", ''Scott thought. ''"I'll get you back soon, I promise." ''Scott regained his composure and put a hand over his Element. He looked down, and saw it was no longer the pink butterfly it was before, but was now a light-ish green color. Fitting, considering how green was opposite pink on the color wheel. He summoned his wings, and flew low to the ground toward his room. Chapter 5 - Connection "Next time, keep him in bed." Vanessa said as she and a nurse put the unconscious Garrett back in his hospital bed. After adjusting the mattress, the two left, leaving Artie, Aden, and Felix. "What happened to him?" Artie asked. "I don't know," Felix said. "He got angry. And his eyes, they glowed green." "Residual artifact energy?" Aden proposed. "It was a pretty powerful combo." "But what would make him angry? The dagger and candle should have gotten rid of his negative emotions." "He said he wanted to die." Felix said. "I swear, when we catch that clone of his, I'm gonna shove that candle so far up his-" "That tin, where did you say it was from, Aden?" Artie interrupted. "The MLP fandom. Its Pinkamena's. From what I can gather, it makes you murderous, sadistic, and depressed. Its the artifacts that's making him say that, Felix." Artie's Farnsworth began buzzing. He pulled it from his coat pocket and answered. "Artie, its me." Claudia's voice emanated from the audio device. "That copy. We haven't found him, but he's been taking artifacts. So far, we're missing Isaac Newton's Prism, Giacomo Casanova's Hair Tie, the Isaac Newton's Prism, and a few others. We're scanning the database to see if any others are missing." "Why is it," Aden groaned, rubbing his chin, "that every time we get a new bad guy, they always wanna steal artifacts? I'm seriously getting tired of this!" "Make sure that he hasn't left the Warehouse. Seal the Dark Vault, while you're at it." Artie said, and closed the Farnsworth. "Looks like we have a long day ahead of us." Chapter 6 - This May Take a While Scott put the artifacts he collected into his bag, making sure that they each got some respectable space between them. It wouldn't be wise to have artifacts jumble around with each other. Not when he was so close to getting out of here. He gazed around his dark, macabre room, glad that he had enough influence all those months ago to get Garrett to change that boring aquarium theme. He rolled his eyes at himself. Zipping up his bag, he pulled on an artifact he had found while wandering through the Valentine Aisle. Lord Byron's Cloak. Apparently, it exposed repressed feelings of love and lust in the wearer. Wouldn't be too much of an issue for him if he wore it, would it. Turning around, his eyes fell onto the model skeleton in the corner of the room. "Hello, Billy." Scott smirked. "Care to dance?" Scott took a boney hand in his and, lifting the skeleton off of its pedestal, twirled it around and around. "Sorry, old friend, but I need a distraction." Scott reached down and snapped a rib bone from the model. He laid the artificial body on his bed, crossing its arms over its chest. Scott picked up his bag and left his room. He summoned his wings and flew high towards the ceiling, which seemed nearly a mile or two above the ground. "Here's to you, ol' Billy." Scott found a pipe for a neutralizer sprinkler line and brought the rib bone down on it several times, bending and finally breaching it, spraying purple goo everywhere. Scott flew away, careful not to let any of it touch his Element of Cruelty. Flying a few meters away, he did the same to another pipeline, and another, and another, until neutralizer was raining down on several sections below him. Then, Scott flew a few more aisles down, to the Architecture Annex. Searching the top shelves, he finally found what he was looking for: The Blueprints for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Scott chuckled, took the blueprints, and flew quickly to the nearest wall with a support beam. Scott pressed the blueprints against the support beam, causing both to glow a bright orange. He then pulled the prints away and tilted them slightly, causing the entire Warehouse to rumble and creak. This resulted in alarms blaring throughout the Warehouse, Mrs. Frederic's voice alerting an emergency. Scott laughed and flew off towards the cave exit, to put his plan into action. Chapter 7 - Let Me Out "What are we going to do?" Artie asked. "Garrett's wounded, but he's the only one with an empathic connection to that doppelganger." "What I'm worried about is how we're gonna re-fuse them." Aden crossed his arms. "He has the artifacts we need to neutralize." "Does it matter?" Felix spread his arms. "We just need to stop him, plain and simple. We can figure out how to get them back together first." "But if we don't know how to re-fuse them, it doesn't matter if we have him." Aden pointed out. "He'll just get away again." "We can figure that out when we have time. Right now, we-" Artie was interrupted by his Farnsworth buzzing again. As soon as he opened it and pressed the button, Claudia's alarmed voice called out. "That kid's mucked up the Warehouse!" She yelled. "Get here! NOW!" Artie, Aden, and Felix were already out the door, and were soon tearing down the highway towards the Warehouse. ... Artie's Office ... "What did that kid do?!" Artie barked. "I don't know! I was looking for signs of him and checking inventory, when the entire Warehouse shook and tilted. I made sure that the Office wheel wasn't touched." Claudia said. "Plus, he cut the remote neutralizer pipes, so we can't stop it from here." "Aden, can't you do your teleporty-spacey thing?" Megan asked. "I can't." Aden put his hands up and sighed. "Whatever that clone did, he caused some sort of imbalance. Plus, I don't know where the thing is!" Suddenly, the Umbilicus door opened and a pink and yellow blur flew past them and out the exit. "WHAT was THAT?" Blaine shouted. The group ran out the door and looked out from the balcony. A giant orange pillar of light rose up from the east. "THERE!" Felix pointed. Claudia grabbed the periscope and looked where the light had originated. Aden and Blaine were already on the zipline, and Megan, Artie, and Felix used the battery-charged Stagecoach. ... Warehouse ... Aden and Blaine dropped down and rolled into the fall just as Felix, Megan and Artie arrived. They saw a silver bag lying on the ground a few feet from a support pillar on the wall. "The Blueprint from the Leaning Tower of Pisa?" Artie said, pulling on purple gloves and gingerly picking up the bag. He carefully but hurriedly placed it on the shelf nearby. "That bastard fucked with us so he could get away!" Felix angrily kicked a nearby long wooden box nearby, prompting a strange noise like a cross between a growl and a moan. "What's that?" "That's the coffin of-" Artie began, but saw that Felix, and the others, were looking at a red splotch on the ground. "Blood?" "A blood trail." Megan clarified. "Garret!" Aden exclaimed. "He flew past us and stopped the artifact. We need to find him." "No need. Look." Blaine pointed up, and the rest looked to see a note taped to the top of the nearby shelf. Extending his claws, Felix jumped and climbed to the top, and retrieved the letter. He hopped down and read aloud: "This is my fight, my monster. I'm sorry, especially to you, Felix. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just fix the Warehouse. I'll handle Scott." "Dammit!" Felix threw the note on the ground and stormed off in the direction that the blood trail led him. Chapter 8 - New Digs Lucky thing Scott managed to get ahold of Gil Perez's Helmet. Unfortunately, as it could only be used once, he had to choose where to go carefully. But problem was, there were so many places to choose from. Oregon's Wizard Island was both beautiful and isolated at night, meaning that it would be difficult for the agents to find him. But if he went to Washington, he could threaten the president, but that would mean interference from other law enforcements. ''Where to go? Garrett thought. It's not like he can- oh, wait, he can. And I will. Scott closed his eyes, and focused on a picture Felix had shown him once, of his old house in New Zealand. That would do perfectly. In a flash of light, Scott teleported from an alleyway in Univille to the living room of an admittedly nice house. Flat screen TV, comfy leather couches and loveseats, and a large kitchen through an archway. Not missing out on this amazing opportunity, Garrett turned around and tore through the hallway behind him, opening every door until he found what he knew was Felix's old room. It had enough knick-knacks to resemble his office back at the Warehouse, to be sure. I wonder, Scott thought. He walked, his heart thumping loudly, making him feel like he was physically moving with each beat, to Felix's dresser drawer and opened it. Thank every god Scott knew, the top drawer wasn't empty. ... A Few Hours Later ... It was nearly dark outside now as Scott walked out of the front door. He had put Perez's helmet back in his bag, as he had no more use for it now unless he wore it into a legitimate battle. He observed that the house wasn't as secluded as he assumed, based on the house's quaint interior, but still far enough from the center of the city to not be overly noisy. Scott walked through the town, taking in the sights, making sure to remember that the roads were reversed here. In certain ways, it reminded him of Univille. Unlike Univille, however, and unlike America, Scott's age wouldn't interfere with his recruitment process. If he was going to build an army, he'd follow Aria T'Loak's plan. He found a bar a few blocks away from Felix's house. He had heard Pete had helped him stop his drinking. This must be the bar, Scott thought as he walked through the doors. Scott had no intention of drinking here. For one, it was illegal, and he didn't want to attract attention to himself in case the Warehouse agents were monitoring for out-of-control minors. He simply sat down in a secluded corner and watched as the patrons wetted their whistles. After quite a while, a man came up to him and sat down. "You lost, kid?" The man asked. His voice was gravelly, and thick with the accent of the country. "No sir," Scott smiled. "Just resting. I just got off the plane a few hours ago and I'm really tired." Scott discreetly pulled out a thin ribbon and tied it around his wrist. A light green energy emanated from the ribbon and flowed through his arm. "I'm Scott by the way." He held out his hand to the gentleman, who promptly shook it. The light green energy flowed from Scott's wrist to the man's, traveling up his arm and dissipating past his shoulders. The man blinked, looking momentarily confused, and then looked at Scott with greatly renewed interest. "Hey, you, uh.. you look pretty tired. If you have nowhere to sleep, maybe..." The man blushed and looked down. "Gladly." Scott drawled, a very, very wide grin on his face. On their way out, Scott brushed his hands across the shoulders of a few other men on his way out. Soon, he was being followed by seven men to an apartment building on the edge of town. Chapter 9 - On the Run After leaving the Warehouse behind, making sure to pack a bag of artifacts for himself, Garrett flew in secrecy to the farthest town he could before getting too tired to keep himself airborne. He rested a while at a bus stop bench, catching a few precious minutes of sleep before taking the bus again to the farthest town it would take him. In a few hours time he would be at the airport, where he would be able to sneak his way to Scott's hiding place. He had a momentary flash of sight through Scott's eyes a few hours before. It wasn't very clear, like Scott wasn't wearing his glasses, but it looked like there was a bunch of people around him, looking down at him. It would have been great if that copy of his got into a public brawl. After being left off at the stop a few miles away from the airport, Garrett decided to go to the convenience store a few streets down to stock up on food. He was going to be away for a while. At least, he planned to be. Garrett walked into the store, a blast of cool air greeting him with the jingle of a bell on the door. "Hello, how may I help you?" A woman asked from behind the counter. Her eyes shone a soft blue-green color, accompanied shoulder-length blonde hair put down with a pink hairband. Her name-tag read "Ariana." She looked about 20 or so. Garrett wasn't sure what it was, but he immediately felt a strong connection to this woman. Something more than recognition or attraction. "Thank you. I'm just here to buy some food. I'm going on a camping trip with my dad." Garrett said. Lucky he wasn't the Element of Honesty. Her eyes scanned Garrett for a split second before a smile spread across her face. "Of course. Just a second." Ariana turned around and called to the back room, "Samara! Could you please hold the register. I've got a customer." "O'course, Ari." replied a southern-esque voice of a woman. An African-American woman walked out from the back room and combed her hands through her hair. "Follow me, and I'll show you what foods are good for long camping trips." Ariana beamed. Samara took out a remote from beneath the counter and changed the TV to the comedy channel. In a few seconds, Samara was practically laughing her head off, and was still giggling as Garrett left to sneak onto a plane to New Zealand. Chapter 10 - Effective Methods "Ah, that was great, guys." Scott sighed as he watched the men he brought with him take turns going to the bathroom and re-emerging fresher and cleaned up. The man who offered to take Garrett to said apartment, who called himself Drake Hosfelt, said that it would be an honor to be the one to show Scott around Christchurch. He happily obliged, as long as they would go to plenty of public areas and bars. The rest of the men were ordered by Scott, with a little help from Hippolyte Bernheim’s Cravat, of course, to stay at the apartment, do whatever they want, but just be ready for more guests and to move to another place Scott knew of, soon. By the end of the night, Scott had recruited about 30 more men into his personal army. Too many to fit into an apartment building. They were happy, Scott told them, to share rooms in Felix's house, if they so desired. Scott suggested that each man hold Freud's lighter for a few seconds before immediately handing it over to another person. This ensured that the men would have no problems with sharing a room with one another. Not a problem at all. "Say, kid," Drake asked as Scott led them to Felix's house. "You sure that we can handle all these guys?" "Together, we can split them 50-50. Maybe share a bit," Scott said. "Just remember, Drake, I'm here on business. And business takes priority. All of the men were soon situated with the house. Some were raiding the kitchen, some checking the strength of the bedsprings, when Scott heard keys in the front door. "Shit!" Scott exclaimed. "Hide! All of you!" The men scattered, leaving Scott hiding behind the couch in the living room alone, watching as two women walked through the front door. The older woman appeared to be in her late 40s, maybe early 50s. The younger woman seems about Felix's age, maybe a bit younger. God dammit! Scott thought. Why didn't Felix say he lived with others? The women were laughing about some story, and were hauling groceries in from a car outside. Scott reached into his back pocket and pulled out an artifact that Scott collected: the Anasazi Rope. In a flash, Scott jumped from behind the couch and tied both women together. He had always hated Boy Scout activities, but had conceded that their books were quite useful if you ever needed to tie something up. He called two men from farther in the house to knock the women out and put them somewhere comfortable, but not noticeable from outside. He congratulated the two "Very strong, very handsome" men with a glass of red wine he had brought from the Warehouse. He hoped they didn't mind a bit of bruising in the morning. Chapter 11 - Beat to the Punch "I say we need to go after Scott, and pings will be second on the list. With that maniac going around who-knows-where and Garrett missing-" Claudia tried to tell Artie, who interrupted her for the umpteenth time. "But if we don't take care of pings first, they'll wreak havoc and somebody may die!" Artie exclaimed, moving his hands around in erratic gestures of annoyance and frustration. The others, who were watching the two argue in Artie's office, collectively thought it was like a strange, angry tennis match. Only a lot more serious. Felix had come back angry, finding both Scott and Garrett completely absent from the Warehouse, but did manage to find the artificial rib bone used to sever the neutralizer lines. He was now sulking at the table in the corner looking for artifacts that could search for individual people, but was having little luck. Before Claudia and Artie could go nuclear, and before Felix got up and nearly flipped the table, Artie got a ping from the artifact-detection device in his pocket. "See, a ping. That's why we need to prioritize artifacts." Artie humphed, and was going to press the button on the pinger when he paused. "Hold on a minute. Do you hear that?" "Hear what?" Aden asked. "Its just your pinger." "Exactly. My pinger. Where's your's, Claudia?" Artie pointed to her. "My pinger's on the table just like it-oh, frack." Claudia's shoulders slumped. "I left it on my table when I went with you guys to get the Blueprints. Scott musta nabbed it on his way out." "What!?" Felix quickly rose from his seat and ran over to the group. "Scott's got a pinger?" "That means," Aden began, "that he could find any artifact that's acting up, and potentially get there before us." "He's a minor. He won't get far." Megan said. "But that won't stop him from using artifacts to get to it." Aden concluded. "Artie, what've we got?" Artie pressed the button on his pinger, bringing up a small picture of an object and a short description of events. "The Roman Colosseum!" Artie exclaimed. "I've been saying that place has a plethora of artifacts for years, but we never had proof until now! I told agent Korss-" "Artie, the artifact?" Felix said. Artie pushed his glasses up and went back to the pinger. "Says here that there were certain parts and small portions of the Colosseum that were either so damaged or fragile that visitors weren't allowed near them. But a kid apparently found an artifact that made everyone else around him act like he was their king. Or should I say, emperor." Artie turned the pinger to show everyone, and a small stone chair was depicted on the screen. "Vaspasian's Bisellium. The bisellium was the emperor's personal seat back in Roman times that nobody else was allowed to use. Vaspasian was the one who built the Colosseum. As an emperor, he could have ordered the slaugher of hundreds of gladiators with just the gesture of his thumb." Artie took a breath, readjusted his glasses, and continued. "Apparently, his seat was imbued with the emperor's power and all the slaughter it witnessed in that arena. If Scott gets ahold of it, he could convince hundreds of people to practically worship him." "Then we stop the little prick and make sure he doesn't." Aden said. "He's not a prick," Felix mumbled. Chapter 12 - Road Trip Scott was very glad to see that, by the next day, Felix's mother and sister were quite comfortable. That might have been because of Rip Van Winkle's Moonshine, but either way they were silent and wouldn't need any maintenance. As Scott was getting ready for yet another trip into town, he heard Claudia's pinger go off in his bag. Pulling it out, he saw an artifact that appeared to be so perfect and helpful that it seemed like a miracle. "Drake," Scott called. The older gentleman appeared, having just finished shaving for the morning. "Think we have enough money to go to Rome?" "Rome?" Drake asked, astonished. "Why Rome?" "I've found out something that I need is there, and I'm afraid someone will steal it from me." Scott smiled wryly. "I mean, the others might have enough money." "S-sure, Scott." Drake smiled and hurried off. If Scott weren't already pre-occupied, he might have really loved Drake. Oh, to hell with it, polygamous love isn't illegal, just as long as they didn't get married. Drake seemed comfortable enough sharing the bed with plenty of other people already. ... A few hours later, on a plane ... "Thanks again, Drakey." Scott drawled. He curled his arm around the older man's shoulder. "You have no idea how much this means to me." "Anything for you, Scott. I just hope it's worth it. This emptied the wallets and bank accounts of everyone back at the house." Drake scratched his head. "Oh, it is definitely worth it. I hear that next to France, Rome is the best place for love." Scott said. Drake smiled a little wider. He could picture it: the lights, the water, the music and food. They had just met, but this felt so... real. Like, it was more than love at first sight, but that's what it still was at the core. Scott fingered his green Element as the plane took off and headed for the home of an artifact that would make everyone in this little planet adore him. Chapter 13 - Race Against Time Garrett entered the airport loading station and made his way to the bathroom. Closing the stall door behind him, he pulled out an artifact from his bag: The Escafil Device. Aden had helped some of the other less combat-oriented Agents (or, at least Garrett, as far as he knew) to master morphing soon after the discovery of the Raven Feather. The Animorphs universe was pretty developed, which only added to the power of the artifact. Garrett looked at it for assurance. He had been too afraid to try it out without Aden and Mary to help him through it before now, despite how "awesome" it seemed to him when he was taught morphing. Garrett set his bag down and focused on the stray tomcat he had met in the alleyway behind that convenience store. He imagined himself growing gray-black fur, the small ears, the piercing green eyes. He felt his hair grow longer, his spine elongating and his bone-structure shifting to become more feline. Painless, but still nerve-wracking. How often had the Animorphs gotten stuck mid-morph in the books? Too many for comfort, in Garrett's opinion. Soon, he had become the tomcat. He swished his tail around, getting used to the feline mindset of curiosity and desire to smell his surroundings. The confidence boost was nice, to be honest. Garrett hopped into his bag and waited for somebody to enter. After a few silent minutes, a man entered the bathroom to wash his hands, and Garrett began to mewl softly, but still noticeably. The man opened his stall door and his eyes widened at the sight of an apparently lost cat in their owner's bag. So far, his plan was going good. He had created a fake I.D. for his owners (his parents) and put false but convincing plane tickets into his bag, which gave the impression that they were already in New Zealand. Now, he could be taken on board and hopefully be flown in the pet section without a hitch. He just hoped the cage lock was easy to open. ... In the pet carrier ... Garrett was getting pretty anxious in the cage. Maybe that was the cat, maybe that was the fear of becoming a cat forever. He didn't care, he just wanted some leg room. How long had it been? He had lost track, which meant he should demorph for safety. Garrett tried unmorphing in the small cat cage, which failed on several attempts, until he finally was able to get tiny cat/human fingers. He reached through the cage door and fidgeted with the lock before finally freeing himself. He quickly demorphed and stretched. Garrett fingered his pink Element and felt a pulse go through him: Scott was sitting on another plane next to a man. Where were they going? ...Rome! Oh, please, please let this plane have been a mistake and actually going to Rome! Garrett thought. He was able to keep his bag with him (thanks to the heart-melting eyes of his, and the fact that the man probably thought that it would be better to leave him). He had offered him some food, too. What was his name? Oh, Carl. Carl Kyles. Strange, though, how he didn't seem to want to tell any airport staff or nearby families. Did he feel the same strange connection Garrett did, like in the store? He mentally made a note to thank Carl, somehow, when he could, but right now, he needed to find a way to get this plane to Rome. Garrett looked around a bit, being as quiet as possible so as not to excite the other animal passengers. He didn't need the staff coming in and seeing a person back here. Or, maybe he did. Garrett morphed back into a tomcat, the instincts now better to control. He jumped around, yowling, getting all the other pets riled up. Soon enough, there was a cacophony of chirps, screeches, howls and yowls filling the pet carrier. Garrett pushed closed his cage door and trudged his bag behind the door, making sure to stay in a position so that he could not get hit or caught, and could quickly stash his bag outside and find somewhere to hide. Just in time, a stewardess opened the door, and Garrett swiftly pulled his bag out, hid it nearby in a corner, and bounded up to the plane. He made sure to stay as out of sight as possible, and was nearly up to 1st class when a man's voice said, "You again?" It was Carl. Garrett and Carl looked at each other for a moment before Carl picked Garrett up and put him in his lap. "Look, you seem like a smart cat. Why would you sneak up here? You'll get in trouble." Carl just pet Garrett's head, prompting a satisfactory purr from his throat. He had to admit, getting pet felt really nice. Carl's hands were gentle and warm, not too hard but not too weak, either. Garrett laid down on his lap and closed his eyes. For now, that was thanks enough. Chapter 14 - Special Arrangements "Okay, so let's go over this again." Artie began. "We've got our Teslas, a few combat artifacts, and all of us, except Claudia and the other senior agents, are going to Rome to get Scott. We can't afford to mess up. If he gets ahold of that bisellium, he can rule over anyone.' "We got it, Artie." Claudia said. "Can you get to the plane, now? It leaves in 2 hours, and its a long drive." "Yes, let's. Claudia, make sure that you close the entire Warehouse off from the outside until we call you on the Farnsworth, okay?" Artie pointed at her. "Just in case Scott returns." "Before you go." Mrs. Frederic appeared in front of the doorway to the Umbilicus just as Artie had turned around, startling everyone, and making Artie clutch his chest. "Oh! Mrs. Frederic, please." Artie huffed. "I've made arrangements for you, so that only one plane a few towns over will take you to Rome. The passengers who boarded the plane, who think it is heading for New Zealand, will be given an amnesiac. I've also made sure that, if needed, you will have reinforcements." "Thanks, Mrs. F." Claudia walked behind Artie and pushed him toward the door. "Get moving, guys. Every second you waste here is another second Scott has over us." ... 1st Class, Plane to Rome ... "I didn't think this plane would be so crowded. How popular is New Zealand?" Aden asked Felix. "More so than you'd think." Felix replied. The two agents sat next to each other. Aden had brought along a Pokémon game to help him relax on the plane ride, while Felix kept bouncing his leg and tapping his fingers, which had developed the slightest hint of claw, on the armrest. "You need to relax, Felix." Megan said from across the aisle. "If you can't focus, you can't work your best." "I know, its just... ever since Scott and Garrett split, I've been thinking of what Garrett said at the hospital. It was the artifact talking, but what if he kills himself? I'm really worried about the kid. He's young, the youngest agent at the Warehouse, and-" "And he's mature," Blaine said. "Trust him, he knows what he's doing, but we need to focus on that bisellium." "Alright." Felix got a pillow and laid his head back, and tried his best to relax. Chapter 15 - Arrival During the flight, Garrett had been able to convince Carl to let him into the bathroom at two hour intervals to allow him to demorph. When a stewardess asked him why he had a cat on board, Carl lied and replied "He only has a month to live. The doctor said so. He hates being alone in cages." The stewardess was very understanding and allowed Garrett to stay. Garrett was just morphing back into his cat form when he heard a voice. "Excuse me, is someone in there?" It sounded really familiar, but Garrett wasn't sure. "Yeah, my son. He's just a kid." Carl said. This guy knew how to lie. Garrett thought. Garrett scratched at the door, and Carl opened it and picked him up. Garrett looked back, and almost had a little cat heart-attack when he saw the other agents in first class. He twisted in Carl's arms to try to get a better look, but was already back in the seat. "We are now arriving at the Rome airport. Please put your seats in the upright position." The pilot's voice called from the intercom. "We'll get to your owners soon, little guy." Carl whispered to Garrett. In all honesty, Garrett was flipping out. How did they know to come to Rome? Why did they follow me? he thought. ... Rome Airport ... "Alrighty, here we are, little guy. Now we just wait and see if we can find your parents." Carl held Garrett, who could see the other agents leaving, under his arm. Garrett was meowing and squirming, trying desperately to follow the others and see why they were here. "What, you need to use the bathroom?" Carl asked. "Again? You should get that checked, you know." Carl made his way outside and, once they made it to a patch of grass, set down Garrett's bag that he had been shouldering, along with Garrett, and turned around to give him some space. Garrett was conflicted on what to do. If he ran away, that man would look for him and probably follow him to the others and get caught in the crossfire. But if he didn't follow the others and get to the Colosseum, Scott would get whatever he was after. Garrett resigned himself to do the stupidest thing he had ever done. He demorphed as fast as he could, and hugged Carl from behind. "Thank you so much!" He grabbed his bag, summoned his wings, and flew straight up. Carl turned around, shocked, then looked up to see a kid with wings flying away toward the city. He was so shocked, he didn't even know what to do. His phone buzzed, and he nearly let it go to voicemail. When he answered it, a woman's calm voice said, "Hello, Mr. Kyles. I believe we have much to discuss." Chapter 16 - Let's Get Ready to Rumble ... Scott ... So far, everything was going according to plan. Scott had entered the Colosseum alone, saying that he wouldn't be long and that Drake should get something to eat after the long plane trip. He had managed to slip by security thanks to his red clone providing a distraction, running around and disturbing the few visitors there were, seeing as it was late evening. He was now hiding behind the stone "walls" that made the underground area such a tiny maze. He opened his bag and gazed inside, looking at the artifact he planned on using to remove the bisellium from its stone foundation: Michael Bay's Leather Jacket. He set down his bag and put on the jacket. He could feel the urge to curse rising, just to see how awesome the explosion would be. He needn't worry about whether the bisellum would survive the explosion. It was an extremely powerful artifact that withstood the test of time. Invulnerability, Scott bet, was bound to be an effect. He picked his bag up again and made his way, being sure to stay in the shadows, towards the podium. ... Agents ... "Sandy, Matt, Bri, you two take the visitor area. Scott might be hiding in a crowd. Take your Sabines. Aden, Felix, Tyler, split up and take the underground level. Be careful, he might be hiding behind one of those walls." Artie nodded to the agent's small blades. "You have your Teslas, as well. Blaine, Nikki, you're with me. We're checking out the perimeter. "We're on it." The agents split up to their assigned locations. ... Garrett ... Garrett's mind wasn't full of thoughts about how Mrs. F. and the others would react to him showing a random man that he had wings and had became a cat. He wasn't thinking about what artifact Scott was after. Nor was he thinking of just taking off his Element and letting himself fall to the ground hundreds of feet below him, although that thought had come disturbingly close to the forefront. No, what Garrett was thinking about was how he was gonna take a stone and shove it down Scott's throat. He deserved that much, for making Felix stab him. For making them both feel like sad dirt for what they did, or nearly did. That thought brought a little smirk to his face. Chapter 17 - Are You Not Entertained? ... Garrett ... Garrett was finally over the Colosseum. From his height he could see bunches of tourists milling around the stone structure, taking flash pictures and pointing at everything. He just hoped that nobody got caught in the crossfire. Pulling his wings in, Garrett dive-bombed toward the ground, stopping just a few feet above the ground in a nearby alleyway to step down and retract his wings. He shouldered his bag, and ran as fast as he could to the Colosseum. ... Colosseum ... Garrett looked around at the interior of the gigantic amphitheater of ancient times. He wished his visit was under better circumstances. Why is it that whenever an agent wanted to go somewhere cool, it always ended up bad? Take Jamaica, or Italy. He looked around for a sign of red hair, jumping up and down like an impatient child. When he didn't see Scott, he shifted his gaze to the formerly-underground area where actors and animals were moved behind-the-scenes. He could see a few people there, but since he'd never been before, he thought they were more tourists. Until he saw a teenager running, with red hair and a black leather jacket. Garrett swiftly pulled out the Fire Alarm. He stuck it to a nearby stone wall, put in neutralizer earplugs, and pulled the alarm. Everyone who could hear it went into a panic, and Garrett made sure that everyone got out without trampling anyone. He'd keep the alarm on so as to prevent anyone else from entering. He summoned his wings and pulled out the Red Orb. The geokinesis would come in handy in this environment. He just hoped he wouldn't have to resort to destroying anything. He jumped, summoned his wings and glided down to the underground area, hiding behind a stone wall. Careful so not be seen by the others, in case they thought he was Scott, he made his way to the podium so that he could see everything. ... Scott ... Scott nearly cursed when he saw Aden on the other side of the Colosseum out of the corner of his eye. The last thing he needed was interference. Screw it, he thought, and ran for the podium. "There!" He heard Aden call from behind him, and felt a concentrated sonic shockwave nearly hit him. Why didn't I take a Sabine? he mentally kicked himself. He summoned his wings and blasted bright green energy at the agents now closing in on him, always nearly missing. He put his fingers to his temples and concentrated on a large rectangular rock nearby, lifting it up from the ground, and heaving it toward the agents, missing them by a hair, but just what he needed to slow them down. Just as he reached the podium, a familiar voice called from the opposite side, "So this is what you're after?" Scott turned and saw Garrett, gesturing to the bisellium at the center of the podium. "What the he- heck do you think you're doing here, softy? You were stabbed!" Scott yelled. "I got over it." Garrett nonchalantly answered. "You're not getting that bisellium." "Try and stop me, shy-boy!" Scott concentrated on the stones below him and separated a portion of the ground, lifting himself into the air. Likewise, Garrett held the Red Orb in his hands and lifted himself up in the same way. Scott took out David Amoss' Bullwhip and lobbed a fireball at his counterpart. Garrett quickly moved his chunk of earth out of the way, but not fast enough for some of the ground to get charred. Garrett seemed to pull something out of his bag, but Scott couldn't see anything. He flung another fireball at Garrett, which prompted Garrett to hold out his hands and deflect the flame. He was still knocked back, though. Ah, Scott thought, the Glass Plate. Scott looked down to see the other agents now on the podium, aiming their firearms and throwing weapons. Even Felix. Scott lifted himself higher and higher, and so did Garrett to match him. He then summoned his wings and leapt from the floating earthen chunk and allowed it to fall down. Garrett was so surprised that he dropped the plate to the ground, and allowed Scott to knock him off his support. Garrett quickly summoned his wings and pushed his clone off, swiftly shooting a blast of pink energy at Scott. Scott, in kind, blasted green energy at Garrett. The two were evenly matched, though Scott kept pushing his way toward Garrett, and in a sudden fling forward, latched himself onto Garrett's hands. "Why are you against me?" Scott shouted. "You're evil!" Garrett replied, flapping his wings and turning the two around in circles. "I'm not evil, just different!" Scott yelled back. He got his face close to Garrett's, and cocked his head to the agents on the ground. "How do you know that, if they can't get rid of me, they won't just Bronze you?" "Why would they?" Garrett asked. "Because this is your fault. Our fault. That tin woke me up. If it weren't for us, that tin wouldn't have been a problem." Scott said. "They're probably deciding right now whether to shoot us both out of the sky to save themselves the trouble of deciding who's who." "That's not-" Garrett was cut off. "And who says I'm evil? I'm just doing what I want. I haven't hurt anybody. Nobody's dead because of me. Why does it matter to them that I'm caught?" "Because Felix stabbed-." "Exactly! Felix! Everything comes down to him. You know I never intended to kill him, even if you weren't fighting me in our head. You know that!" Scott exclaimed. "To Felix, we don't exist. The most we did for him was save him from an evil hat. We never really did anything for him other than that, and he never did anything for us!" "But he-." "No! You know why. You've known ever since you became an Agent. Its not like that'll ever happen. Not without my assertiveness and push. Without me, you'd be in your room alone until you turn 30!" "Scott!" both turned their heads to the ground below them, and saw a man in the visitor's section waving his arms and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Scott! What's going on?!" "Drake?!" Scott lost his concentration for a moment, allowing Garrett to push him away and hit him with a pink blast. "Aagh!" Scott fell for several feet before spreading his wings out and pulling up. He flew over to Drake. "I thought I told you to stay out of here!" "People were running away and screaming. I had to see if you were okay. What caused the siren?" Drake asked. Scott turned around and saw the other agents running off the podium, with Garrett above them, toward the two. "No time, take this." Scott pulled Perez's helmet and a disposable cellphone from his bag and tossed them to Drake. "Take these! Concentrate on somewhere far away!" "Why-?" "Just do it!" Scott ordered. He flew away toward Garrett and reached into his bag. From behind him, he saw a flash of light. Drake had teleported to safety. Scott pulled out Ilse Koch's Whip and snapped it in Garrett's direction, forcing his Element off of his neck and making his wings disappear, and causing him throw the Red Orb up into the air. With the agents below him now trying to catch Garrett, Scott caught the Orb, flew to the podium, and exploded the ground beneath the bisellium. Using a combination of his goggles and orb, he lifted the seat into the air and flew as fast as he could away into the night sky. Artifacts Used Element of Cruelty Isaac Newton's Prism Red Orb Sabine Giacomo Casanova's Hair Tie Knife from Yuan Chonghuan's Torture Ise Koch's Whip Razputin Aquato's Goggles Glass Plate Sigmund Freud's Lighter Lord Byron's Cloak Blueprints for the Leaning Tower of Pisa Unnamed Coffin Gil Perez's Helmet Michael Bay's Leather Jacket Escafil Device Hippolyte Bernheim's Cravat Anasazi Rope Vaspasian's Bisellium Rip van Winkle's Moonshine Raven Feather (mentioned) Fire Alarm David Amoss' Bullship Fred Phelp's Cowboy Hat (mentioned) Category:Blog posts Category:Fanfiction Category:Garr9988